Isaac was in town with the cart full of wood and his father's gray shire pulling it. He was currently selling the firewood and purchasing some meat.
The first real snow had fallen last night so his father sent him into town to sell wood. Isaac knew right now would be the best time to sell the firewood. Everyone in the village would be looking for firewood, even the king and queen would no doubt be looking for some.
Isaac sat in the back of the cart eating some of the food he had purchased as he gave a stack of firewood to a young woman who came up to purchase some.
Isaac got out of the cart and moved over to the gray shire and patted his neck before he moved through the marketplace going up to a stand where he found pork meat being sold along with some fruits.
Isaac was a bit surprised to see the prince there buying fruits and some almond flour. Seeing the prince isn't a common sight. He was typically hidden away in the castle or out riding his horse who stood behind him.
The prince had a unique horse which was covered in numerous black spots and some black patches at the top of its neck.
The prince glanced over at Isaac. The seller of the booth he was at handed him food as Isaac went over and quickly purchased some. The prince was riding in the direction of his cart, so Isaac was quick to get back to his cart.
Isaac knew having a royal purchase his wood would be good for business. A lot of the townsfolk were currently out. A nice amount had noticed the prince despite him doing his best to conceal his appearance.
He wore a thick cotton and wool cloak along with trousers. Isaac looked over at him. "Would you like some firewood?" Isaac asked and the prince looked over. He bit his lip before he nodded as he steered his horse over.
"Just one small stack." The prince said digging coins out of a pouch in his horse's saddle.
Isaac selected a small stack of wood before bundling it together and handed it to the prince. "Here you go." Isaac told him and the prince nodded.
"Thank you." The prince said.
Isaac nodded. He watched as the prince swung himself back up onto the horse. Isaac paused as he caught a glimpse of the inside of the trousers. They looked as if they were lined with fur like a deer. Which didn't make sense to Isaac as they weren't allowed to hunt.
Isaac didn't get a good enough look as the prince rode off right after that heading back to the large house him and his family lived at. Isaac watched him leave just as more of the folk came up to purchase wood.
Despite that the fur in the prince's trousers remained in Isaac's head. Could the prince be hunting? Surely, he knew the danger that hunting could bring them.
Isaac didn't know. Maybe he found a deer that had wandered into the village and slayed it. That was the only other thing Isaac could produce but he had a bad feeling it could be worse. However, as of now Isaac couldn't do anything. All he could do was sell the wood.
☾
I was outside standing walking through the snow around the cabin when Court rode back in. A few days had passed since Lyk had visited me and told me everything.
Court had gone left early in the morning informing me of some errands he had to run in town. He gave me permission to explore a little outside if I wanted to just not to go into the forest unless Xerxes came with me.
However, when I got myself up both Xerxes and Lyell were asleep in their rooms. Last night it had snowed signaling the beginning of winter. The entire ground was coated in snow that went past my boots now.
Lucia had sent some gloves for me to wear yesterday. With it getting cold I had to start layering up more. Lucia even offered to line my red cloak with some fur which I was debating on.
I saw Celeste before I saw Court. Celeste came trotting through the snow as Court smiled at me. He had his saddlebags full of food and a small bundle of wood strapped onto the other side of Celeste.
He put his Celeste in his stall with a blanket over him to keep him warm. He threw in a some of the hay he had stored away in the small wooden shed building before coming over.
"Enjoying yourself?" Court asked.
"I am. I never got to see the forest when it snowed." I told him and Court smiled at me as he took the food and wood in. I followed him.
"I got you some more almond flour. You liked it so I purchased some more." Court told me and I smiled.
"Thank you, Court." He nodded as he turned to me.
"Once Celeste has rested and eaten, I can take you out for a ride and show you around the forest unless you're up for a walk." Court told me.
I looked outside. "I'm up for a walk." I told him.
"Put some warmer clothes on and meet me outside." Court told me and with that we split ways.
I went into the wardrobe and picked out a grey fur lined dress before putting my cloak back on over it and meeting Court outside. He was seated on the steps of the cabin having brushed away the snow.
He turned to me and smiled. He offered his hand which I took as we walked into the woods. Court walked at my pace as we walked through the snow.
"How many winters have you seen out here?" I asked looking over at him.
"This will be my twelfth winter out here. It's quite beautiful here. We can only travel a little, but I'll take you out further one day. There is a beautiful lake by here and it looks gorgeous when frozen over." Court told me and I smiled at him.
"Sounds wonderful." I told him and Court smiled.
I held his hand as we walked through the snow. Each tree is lined with snow and birds sat on them. Most of the wildlife had fled once they heard us. The only one I caught sight of was a doe jumping through the snow.
Court smiled as we made our way through the snow. "What was the wood for?" I asked Court as I looked at his hand which held mine.
"One of the woodsmen's son was selling wood and offered me some. People tend to buy where I have bought so I decided to be nice. Anyways means I don't have to chop any wood for tonight." Court told me and I nodded at that.
We continued walking through the snow. "What are some of your favorite places out here?"
Court glanced over at me and gave me a smile. "Well, I like the lake here. There is also a nice grove. Looks beautiful when summer and spring come around. All sorts of things grow there. The berry bushes I took you to are nice. There is a lot of pleasant things out here." Court told me as he looked around.
"Would you be able to show me some of them?" I asked.
Court nodded. "Yeah. I'll definitely show you them. We can plan out a day to take Celeste out to the lake and I can show you there. The rest I'd prefer waiting until spring or summer. It's much more beautiful to look at when it isn't covered in snow." Court explained.
I nodded as we walked through the forest together circling around trees. "I assume you've been adjusting well to being here?" Court asked looking over at me.
"I have. It's nice out here." I told him as I looked around the snow.
"It is. You haven't even seen much of it either. I can only imagine your reaction when you see the most gorgeous parts of this." Court told me a smile on his face.
"You've helped a lot with me adjusting here." I told him.
Court looked down a small soft smile appearing on his lips. "I want you to be as comfortable as you can here. So, if you need anything just tell me and I'll do my best to get it." Court told me as he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Thank you." I told him and Court smiled.
"Speaking of that, is there anything you need? With winter coming a lot of people are selling things to prepare." Court asked.
"Maybe some more things to cook with." I told him and Court nodded as we began our journey back to the cabin.
Soon the cabin pulled into view. The small stall with Celeste in it pulled into view as well. He was currently eating some of the hay Court had put in with him.
"You can go see him before we go inside." Court told me as if he had read my mind.
I smiled at him as Court let my hand go and I went up to Celeste. I had always adored horses, but we only ever had one. He was an older draft before he had passed away from old age. Horses were expensive in the village.
There is a nice amount of them though, but my parents never could afford another one. Most families breed their own horses, and we only had a gelding.
Celeste is gorgeous. He had many spots on him and is very friendly. I picked up one of the treats Celeste had on the ground and stretched my hand out to him. Celeste looked up before he came over and accepted it.
Court appeared next to me as I ran my fingers over Celeste's forehead.
"I'm assuming you never had a horse of your own?" Court asked.
"No, we only had a draft, and he was the family horse to pull things. But he passed of old age." I told him and Court nodded.
"Your parents have two horses now, courtesy of my father." Court told me and I smiled.
"Did you build this stall for him?" I asked.
Court nodded. "Celeste and I are very close, and I wanted him to have a safe spot while out here. I keep him in here more in the winter. When it's spring he typically can wonder around here if he doesn't pass the tree line, but he knows not to. So, I don't worry about him, and I always check on him." Court told me.
I smiled as I patted Celeste's neck before he backed away.
"Where do you get all of this hay?" I asked looking at the hay he has stashed away.
"Some comes from the village, and I've transported some from surrounding cities." Court told me and I looked over at him.
"There are other cities?" I asked.
Court nodded. "They are far out though. More than a day journey." Court explained to me.
"Do you collect from them as well?" I asked.
Court shook his head. "They're outside of our territory. Too far away for us to do anything. The village is within our grounds. It's why we collect." Court told me.
"Would you be able to take me to a city one day?" I asked and Court took a deep breath.
"I could, one day. I'm sure you would enjoy it. No one would recognize you either. Or me." Court murmured and I smiled at him.
"Is there a reason this is the only nearby village?" I asked.
"I don't know. It's always been this way. Just a way of life. Most city folk avoid out here. It's considered untouched land full of dangers that very few people have ever braced." Court told me.
"Are there more dangerous things than people like you?" I asked.
"People like me?" Court asked amused.
"Wolves, or wolf-shifters." I told him.
"Who told you that name?" Court asked.
"Lyk did." I answered and Court nodded.
"I would assume there is more dangers out here than other wolf-shifters. Any humans that managed to escape the village long ago never made it to cities. They were killed or disappeared." Court explained.
I looked at the forest. "So, you aren't the only dangerous thing out there?" I asked.
"You'd have to go further out to encounter something besides wolf-shifters. But most likely. We wolf-shifters try not to travel that far, and if we do during the daytime or when we are shifted." Court told me.
"Is the journey to the city dangerous?" I asked.
"It can be. I try to leave early, and I always shift at night when I camp. Whatever is out there prefers not to confront us shifted." Court told me. He turned to me. "You have a lot of questions, are you planning to run away?" Court asked.
"Of course not, I was just curious, I'm sorry if I upset you." I told him.
Court shook his head. "Don't apologize, I'm just teasing you. I know you wouldn't run away." Court told me as he turned to the house. "We should head inside and start on dinner." Court told me and I nodded.
With that we went inside putting aside the talk of cities and dangers much worse than wolf-shifters.
2212. And I talked a little bit about the dangerous forest. The cities really won't be explored much as Ruby isn't going to want to leave knowing how dangerous the forest will be. But I might bring her there. We also had a pleasant experience with Isaac. Can't wait to head towards the plot more! I have lots planned. I might divide this into two parts depending on how things go! Not sure if I'll make a sequel or not. ***